Sunday, 29 December, 2013

Indian education system

Indian
education system

Status
of Indian education system

Indian education system is broken. Our universities
haven’t changed their syllabi in last 20 years. Our existing education system is
archaic and follows age old syllabus which has not been updated by experienced
teachers and people from industry.

Our education
system trains students in rote learning and believes in hard core step by step
universal method at arriving at answers. It sometimes creates mental block and
unwanted mindset. In all real life problems, what matters most is the final
solution. The solution or goal can be fixed but there may be many ways of
reaching the final solution. In our current education system there is too much
emphasis on fixed, conventional approaches and very little room provided for
using creative brains.

The aptitude tests in exams like CAT, GMAT, GRE, Bank PO
etc makes us realise the need to focus on our mental aptitude. Sadly there is
any stress on developing mental aptitude in our present education system. Most
of the questions asked in the objective paper require unconventional approaches
similar to real life situation. However students are not exposed to these
unconventional or flexible methods of solving questions in their school
curriculum.

Our ancient sages were the first to use such methods and
the classic example is the different sutras for mental calculation popularly
known as Vedic mathematics. Infact students from UP Board and Bihar board are
better in calculations as they are not allowed to use calculators in school.

Statistics
: PISA result

According to PISA (Program for International Student Assessment),a
triennial survey that tests the skills and knowledge of 15 year old students in
65 countries,most of the Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and China have the
best results. However, they sometimes stress on extreme pressure tactics and
turn students into test taking machines. Out of all education system, Finland turned
out to be the role model where the philosophy is any student can be turned into
a great student.

The most surprising results from PISA is India stands way below
the average rankings and did not even care to participate in the last PISA
survey. For a country with teeming 1.2 billion populations, this is disgrace.

The
ever changing World

Globalization, new technologies and changing demography
are inexorably and continuously changing the face and frontiers of opportunities.
The equations are continuously changing. In fact, we are living in a volatile, uncertain,
complex world. Rapid globalisation and the resulting interdependence of
financial markets, technology and economic systems have made this a more
complex world to manage. Never before we have seen such rapid explosions in the
global population, shifts in economic power or resulting pressures on natural
resources. Enormous swings in currencies, raw material costs or climate have
become the norm. In this ever changing scenario, it becomes imperative to train
the next generation. Shouldn’t we have tailor made education which prepares
students to face the world?

Let us together
raise the threshold of India’s advancement.

What is education?

Education generally represents an
opportunity for children in an undesirable situation to pull themselves out of
the rut in which they would otherwise remain. Education is the awakening of
mind and to understand the intricacies of being a part of this world.

Vivekananda says:
“My idea of education is personal contact with teacher. The universities in
India are not producing any original man today; they have become merely an
examining body.” It is said in ancient scriptures that within man is all
knowledge even in a child and it requires only an awakening and that much is
the work of teacher.

Digital
revolution

India is on the cusp of connectivity revolution. India should make the transition from 2G and
3G to 4G technology as quickly as possible because 4G makes far more efficient
use of the spectrum and users can get so much more bandwidth out of it. Internet
has now transcended boundaries and made it possible for anyone to learn any new
course with the best in the world.

If one cannot come to education, education must go to
him. Let us connect our entire classroom and teach our teachers to adapt to
this revolutionary method of teaching. Why cannot anyone who desires to do
exceptionally well be given a fair chance in life?

Technology never underestimates the power of teachers and
their teaching methods. You can get all information today on Google but it is
the teacher who can guide through the clutter of information.

Philosophy

To conclude the state of education in India, no one can
put it in a better perspective than Rabindra Nath Tagore.

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held
high;

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into
fragments by narrow domestic walls,

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.